BKP for my Agile

[EVH Fan]

Well with my amp search to get the tone I need I will need to first swap my pickups. I already got a set of Seymour Duncans picked out I want to put in the guitar, but I want other options to maybe find something that will work better. So I want to look at BKP since they are highly regarded, but I have little knowledge of their pickups. I want pickups that will be great for hard rock like Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, etc. So basically any hard rock from the 70s and 80s.

For the bridge I want something that is nice and clear, moderately tight sounding (doesn't sound flabby when palm muting), huge fat sound, preferably not mid scooped. The amount of gain I use probably around the amount some of the bands mentioned above use.

And for the neck I want that real nice woody sound, with a clear and smooth top end. Basically I only use the neck pickup for clean tones and some overdriven lead work.

I'm not sure if they sell active pickups or not, but I only want passive. Output and magnets doesn't matter to much, and I don't want something that is crazy high output.

So my picks just based on info and sound clips on their website are... the Stormy Monday for the neck position. I like the VHII, Nailbomb, and Holydiver for the bridge position. I may take a calibrated set if you think it would work better for what I want. So any info and thoughts on how the pickups I mentioned or others will sound in the Agile and work for the sounds I want is much appreciated.

So at the moment the Stormy Monday is my favorite neck pickup and the VHII is my favorite Bridge (maybe a calibrated VHII set). So I especially want to know how those would sound in the Agile. Would they be muddy, bright, would they go good together, etc...

Slight edit:
I should also note I'm a big fan of the 80s Glam Metal sound. So if we can work that into the sound also that would be cool, but it's optional.

[Dan Graves]

EVH, do yourself a favor, sign up on the BKP forums and ask there as well, and be sure to send a PM to Tim (Mills), he knows best what will work for you (he should at least, he makes them).
It might take a day or so before you get a response since Tim is fairly busy these days, but he ALWAYS replies in the end.

Personally, i'd say get a Mule or Black Dog for the neck, and a Rebel Yell or Aftermath bridge.
Or just get a good Rebel Yell calibrated set, i'm still loving the mad clarity and articulation on mine.

Also, Glam metal is more down to the amp and playing style than the pickups, so any pickup will do.

[EVH Fan]

Thanks Dan. I'll go and check out the BKP forums and see if I can get the answer I need.

[EVH Fan]

Well I went to the BKP forums asked the question (in greater detail) to the general forum and sent Tim Mills a pm also.

So far the general forum members have said the Black Dog calibrated set a couple of times, Holydivers if the guitar isn't to dark sounding, and the VHII with a Stormy Monday neck.

Tim Mills said "Without hesitation, Riff Raff humbuckers." and recommended the calibrated set.

So I'll see what others will say on the forums, but right now it's between a set of Riff Raffs and Black Dogs.

Also I'm trying to decide on how I want the pickups to look. I'm thinking a set of zebra humbuckers would look awesome in the guitar, but they got some cool covers that I'm not sure would look good in my guitar what do you think.
What my guitar looks like - http://www.rondomusic.com/al3100hsbfwide.html

[EVH Fan]

Well it just came in my mind to ask this. When I swap the pickups in the Agile should I change all the electronics, or are they already good enough that replacing them wouldn't really give me any benefits.

I'm not in a big hurry or anything because it will probably be about 2 more weeks until I buy the pickups since I found out how much they cost. I should of known they would cost around $320 since they are hand made, but it didn't cross my mind at first (still buying them though ). I can afford them now but I don't want to take out such a big chunk of the cash I have saved up right now.

[LievenDV]

Also I'm trying to decide on how I want the pickups to look. I'm thinking a set of zebra humbuckers would look awesome in the guitar, but they got some cool covers that I'm not sure would look good in my guitar what do you think.
What my guitar looks like - http://www.rondomusic.com/al3100hsbfwide.html

Zebra's would work but I owuld go for the stylish covers.

Smart of you to consider BKP

[EVH Fan]

Zebra's would work but I owuld go for the stylish covers.

Smart of you to consider BKP

I really like the look of the uncovered zebras because they would go great with the black fretboard and cream colored parts. I don't want chrome/nickels covers, and gold and black are out of the question since the rest of the hardware color is nickel. Their burnt chrome and camo covers look really cool and would be eye catching, but they may not go good with the guitar.

It's such a dilemma. The look is the most important part of rock n roll